Across Iowa’s rolling fields and farms, ugly wind turbines seem to dot every other farm field. For all their promise of clean energy, they spark fierce opposition in any town that proposes putting them in.
I admit I’m tilting at these modern windmills myself, a regular Iowan Don Quixote, railing against their harsh, 2010s scifi aesthetic. A lot of people bring up concerns such as birds hitting them or their lack of recyclability, but I believe that the biggest trouble is that they’re just flat-out ugly.
I know an immense amount of engineering probably went into making these things as aerodynamic as possible, but it’s all for naught when 30% are cancelled due to opposition. Compare that to the windmills you can see in Elk Hart, Pella and Amana.
All of them are beloved local symbols that tie Iowa to its ancestry of Northern Europeans. I suspect that the 30% cancellation rate would be a lot lower if the windmills weren’t eyesores.
This design philosophy ties into everything: look at the “commie blocks” of Russia, and compare them to 5-over-1s. They serve the same purpose, but one looks nicer and is more desirable in town. On a smaller scale, I’ve started replacing the harsh, default LED lights in my house with bulbs that mimic the warm glow of incandescent lighting.
The few remaining bright-white LEDs make me feel like I’m in a hospital, while the warmer bulbs are nostalgic, gentle on the eyes and instantly make the space feel more like home.
Imagine if our public infrastructure actually had a sense of place. In an era where more and more places look the same, we could do a few things that would make Iowa really stand out. Iowa may not be a tourist hotspot, but a little attention to aesthetics could change that. Imagine corn fields dotted with beautiful windmills, a stave church in the distance and beautiful light that doesn’t blind you.
If you want to make things beautiful, I strongly suggest reading “The Design of Everyday Things” and thinking about what exactly inspires awe in you when you see it. Think about that sense of place when you visit other parts of the U.S., and take a deeper appreciation for why those traditions arose in those parts. Beauty isn’t just decoration, though; it’s been built over centuries of culture, and you are the latest link in that chain.
Self-written bio: Ryan Hurley is an Iowa State senior majoring in business administration with a minor in political science. He enjoys discussion and is currently working on a cookbook.
